Digital Odyssey 2016: Privacy in Public: Implications for Libraries

Friday June 10, 2016| Location: Hamilton Public Library, Central Library, Hamilton   

Technology has become an integral part of our lives, and has made it easier than ever to find and share information online. Ever wonder what this easy access means for your patrons’ privacy? What information is shared when we access online databases, collections, or install the latest app on our smartphones? Do you struggle to raise awareness about the importance of protecting your privacy? At this year’s Digital Odyssey, we’ll be tackling these issues and more. In addition to presentations from experts in the field, we’re thrilled to announce that Alison Macrina from the Library Freedom Project will be leading a hands on workshop to teach us about privacy tools. Come to Digital Odyssey to learn about the latest privacy issues and take away tips and tricks that you can put to work in your library, whether it’s an academic, public, school or special library.

This year we’ll be meeting at the beautiful Central Library branch of the Hamilton Public Library. The Central Library is easily accessed by public transit (it’s only a short walk from the Hamilton Go Station) and public parking is also available in the vicinity. We hope to see you there!

Program

Keynote – Something to Hide, Something to Fear: Securing Our Privacy in a Digital Age

We have let digital technologies into some of the most intimate aspects of our lives. Between data breaches, mass surveillance, and the everyday information we hand over to countless companies online, it can feel as though one needs to be an expert to have any sense of digital security. But privacy is a fundamental human right, critical to expression, education, and innovation, that we can’t afford to compromise. There is much we can and should be doing to protect ourselves, empower others, and secure our digital lives.
Laura Tribe is a digital rights specialist with OpenMedia, where she leads the organization’s campaigns and advocacy on digital privacy.

Privacy Badges for Your Patrons

In 2014-2015, the Hive Toronto digital literacy network developed a series of prototype-level open privacy badges through co-design with 8 teenagers. This presentation will share some highlights from the research as well as introduce some of the learning activities associated with the badges.
Karen Louise Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film at Brock University. Karen has conducted participatory research with Mozilla and the Hive Toronto digital literacy network.
       

Google and Privacy: Not Always at Odds

Google, err, Alphabet, is a huge data-driven company, and many of their products have complicated relationships with privacy. But some of their products–specifically Chromebooks–may be very good choices for protecting privacy. This session compares Chromebooks to the dominant options for public access kiosks and loaner laptops.
Dan Scott  is the Chair of the Laurentian University Library and Archives, founder of the Google Developer Group (Sudbury), a linked open data advocate, and a notorious free software collaborator and sympathizer.

Knowing Me, Knowing You: Quick Ways to Test the Security and Privacy of a Vendor Product

I’ll be discussing some tools and techniques that libraries can use to evaluate the security and privacy levels of a vendor product, why it’s important, and how to talk to vendors about fixing things that need to be fixed.
Michel Castagné is the Web Initiatives Librarian at the University of Ottawa. He is a lifelong computer-y generalist who is currently interested in digital preservation and most web-related problems, hopes and dreams.

The Panopticonopticon: Assessing the State of Privacy in Library Computing Environments

In 2015, Gabriel Gardner and Myron Groover began the first dedicated research into what privacy looks like in practise for users of Canada’s public library internet terminals. Their findings so far (research is ongoing) show how far libraries have to go in making our “commitment to privacy” a reality. Attendees will learn just how deep the rabbit hole really goes — and come out with ideas for coming out the other side in one piece.
Myron Groover is Archives and Rare Books Librarian at McMaster University. A keen proponent of intellectual freedom, critical thinking, a robust public sector, and other dangerously unfashionable ideals, he can usually be found getting into some sort of trouble (or fleeing its aftermath).

​Hands-on Privacy Workshop

Alison Macrina of Library Freedom Project will conduct a demonstration of technology tools that can help thwart surveillance from the intelligence agencies’ dragnet and the massive data collection done by corporate entities. These tools can be installed on public computers or taught to patrons in computer classes, and provide practical ways for everyday people to prevent search tracking, browse the web anonymously, and encrypt some of their online communications. The range of tools covered offer solutions for people at all levels of technical ability.
Alison Macrina is a librarian, privacy activist, and the founder and director of the Library Freedom Project, an initiative which aims to make real the promise of intellectual freedom in libraries by teaching librarians and their local communities about surveillance threats, privacy rights and law, and privacy-protecting technology tools to help safeguard digital freedoms. Alison is passionate about connecting surveillance issues to larger global struggles for justice, demystifying privacy and security technologies for ordinary users, and resisting an internet controlled by a handful of intelligence agencies and giant multinational corporations. When she’s not doing any of that, she’s reading.